Elon Musk labels LinkedIn ‘cringe’, suggests launching a rival to the platform

Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, caused a stir among professionals who use networking platforms when he publicly criticized LinkedIn. He even went as far as to disavow the popular platform. However, his statement that he plans to introduce a new competitor to LinkedIn was even more surprising. Many people were skeptical but also intrigued about his plans.

Yesterday, Musk entered a Twitter (X) conversation challenging LinkedIn’s quality. One user, Ian Zelbo, posed a rhetorical question on his feed: “Is there anything worse than LinkedIn?” The tweet drew a surprising amount of attention.

The billionaire mastermind behind ground-breaking projects like SpaceX’s Starship and Tesla’s electric vehicles, responded, stating, “People send me LinkedIn links sometimes but the cringe level is so high that I can’t bring myself to use it. I ask for the resume or bio to be emailed instead.”

People send me LinkedIn links sometimes, but the cringe level is so high that I just can’t bring myself to use it, so I ask for the resume or bio to be emailed.

We will make sure that the X competitor to LinkedIn is cool.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 27, 2023

Musk doubled down on this stance, making an unexpected announcement to millions of followers, teasing the idea of a cooler alternative to LinkedIn. “We will make sure that the X competitor to LinkedIn is cool.” He wrote, turning thousands of speculative heads toward X (formerly known as Twitter).

Besides that, X unveiled the beta version of ‘Hiring.’ This feature, exclusively available to verified organizations, promises to provide them with an expedient method to connect with millions of relevant candidates.

“Unlock early access to the X Hiring Beta — exclusively for Verified Organizations. Feature your most critical roles and organically reach millions of relevant candidates,” X wrote in a post.

Unlock early access to the X Hiring Beta — exclusively for Verified Organizations.

Feature your most critical roles and organically reach millions of relevant candidates.

Apply for the Beta today ????: https://t.co/viOQ9BUM3Y pic.twitter.com/AYzdBIDjds

— Hiring (@XHiring) August 25, 2023

Although the monthly fee is steep, approximately $1,000 (₹82,300) according to CNBC, many experts and individuals are closely following this fascinating advancement, given Musk’s history of successful endeavors.

What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments section below.